GV carvers show passion in their work

“Woodcarving is a dying art,” says Vernon Preator, president of the Green Valley Wood Carvers. “But it’s kind of addictive once you get into it.”

And it’s easy to see how a person could get addicted to the art. The detailed work and dedication the artists put into their carvings, which might take months or even years to complete, is rewarded with a finished product that radiates with the love so clearly put into creating it.

Which isn’t to say that the ins and outs of the creative process aren’t just as fulfilling. You can tell that the members of local club, which meets at Friends In Deed every Monday morning, have a lot of fun when they get together, sharing carving techniques and laughs over coffee cake.

In June, the club presented a framed patchwork wooden quilt to Friends in Deed in thanks for letting it meet in their building each week. The quilt, now displayed in the main lobby, was a collective project, each member carving one or two wooden blocks into an individual “patch.”

“It’s a very interesting piece, and we’ve been getting a lot of nice comments about it,” said Dorothy Mayfield, president of Friends in Deed. “We’re just really appreciative of the Wood Carvers club for presenting it to us.”

Members come in with different backgrounds and levels of experience.

“We welcome newcomers and teach them the techniques of carving,” says Preator, who has been a wood carver for 25 years. “We even coach them on how to properly sharpen their knives,” which must be “as sharp as a razor” in order to make clean cuts, he says.

Member Sherie Goade is perfecting the technique of relief carving, chiseling scene scapes of pueblo villages and covered country bridges into two-inch-thick wood, then applying paints to accent the carving.

Christel Busby, co-founder of the Southwest Woodcarvers Association in Tucson, which many club members in Green Valley also belong, is known for her carvings of Native American icons and European-style religious scenes.

Bill Milligan carves birds so lifelike, you’ll want to reach out and touch the intricately carved feathers to see if they’re real.

The Wood Carvers are currently working on a 4-foot long Old West Town that each artist is contributing to. It looks like a scene out of a Tombstone showdown, complete with a rowdy saloon and Chinese laundry. They plan to display the finished work in a library or bank in Green Valley.

The Green Valley Wood Carvers meet Mondays, 8:30-11:30 a.m. at Friends in Deed, 301 Camino Casa Verde. Contact Preator at 393-0053.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726